


Distractions

by agentbranski



Series: ✰ ☽ Birds and Words ☾ ✰ [2]
Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Other, also starring: lifeline / crypto / bangalore / wraith !
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:27:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23321668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentbranski/pseuds/agentbranski
Summary: With his date with Bloodhound out of the way, Elliott can finally return to his normal life... Can't he?
Relationships: Bloodhound/Mirage | Elliott Witt
Series: ✰ ☽ Birds and Words ☾ ✰ [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1661149
Comments: 13
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

When Mirage entered the dropship dorms, he was surprised to find Ajay in the common area, lounged out on her phone. She glanced up and caught his eye, a wry smile spreading on her face. Ajay waved him over and Elliott didn’t hesitate to make his way towards his friend.

“What are you doin’ out here?” she asked when he reached her, eyeing the bulky box in his arms, “What’s that about?”

“Just dropping off some new shoes for the game tomorrow,” Elliott explained as he lifted the box, giving its contents a gentle rattle.

“Yeah? Ya think you’re gonna be on Bloodhound’s team again?” she teased.

“No… I mean that wouldn’t hurt. We did win after all.”

“No thanks to you! You were stumblin’ over your feet the entire game. You’re lucky you had them watchin’ your back.”

“Come on I pulled my weight during that game, it’s not like I didn’t get any kills,” he said, hugging his shoe box.

“Me an’ Bloodhound carried ya to that win. You’re gonna need more than new shoes if you keep playin’ like that.”

Elliott knew she was only giving him some tough love but it still wasn’t nice to hear. He rolled his eyes and waved her off, “Yeah yeah, not my fault I can’t keep up with the  _ legendary hunter _ and miss  _ Ajay the destroyer _ . You two are pretty intense in the ring.”

“Funny way of sayin’ we don’t slack off.”

“I get it I get it--”

“Maybe  _ I _ should be the one askin them on a date.”

“Hey!”

Ajay was laughing now, she was clearly pulling the man’s leg. “Calm down, I won’t steal them from ya,” she assured, crossing one leg over the other, “Even if we both know I could.”

“You probably could,” Elliott agreed with a chuckle, “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t break my heart twice.”

“You’re too soft,” she teased, “A bit of pain might be good for ya.”

“I’ll pass on that, thanks. What are you doing here anyways?”

“Supposed to be headin’ to the movies with O,” she said as she glanced towards one of the halls, “Dunno what's takin’ him.”

“You know how he is,” Elliott shrugged, “He gets distracted.”

“Him and Nat both, can never get anywhere on time with either of them.”

“You sure know how to pick ‘em,” he teased, beginning to make his way towards his room, “Have fun waiting, I’m gonna go put these up.”

“Seeya.”

The man made his way out of the common area and down the hall that led further into the legend housing. It was a large complex, twenty plus rooms with a shared kitchen space and common area; An incredibly spacious building considering only a handful of legends took advantage of the free room. Back on Solace, Elliott had his own apartment, he made sure to get one within walking distance of his bar. It wasn’t cheap but it was one of the few luxuries he afforded himself. However now that they were stationed on an entirely different planet for who knows how long, he found himself sleeping in the dorms more often.

When he reached his door, Elliott thumbed his room’s combination into the keypad. The metal doors slid open silently and he slipped inside. A warm, bright room greeted him, the walls lined with all the drawings and letters he couldn’t fit into his space on the dropship. He ambled over to his desk and dropped the shoebox on top of it, the container making a satisfying  _ thump _ as it landed on the wooden surface.  _ Man I’m gonna look so good in these tomorrow. _ The man could already picture himself on the screen, strutting around the arena in his dashing new boots, he could hardly wait. Elliott shoved a hand into his pants pocket, fishing around until his fingers came in contact with the small piece of paper he was looking for. He pulled it out and couldn’t help but smile as he looked it over, rubbing his thumb across the dark ink. 

It’d been almost a week since he’d seen Bloodhound, the last image he had of them was of them retiring to their space on the dropship after the game was over. After they won, Elliott was riding high on adrenaline and all he wanted to do was be near them, to celebrate with them. Unfortunately before he’d gotten a chance to ask they had already excused themselves for the evening. Elliott tried waiting behind for them even after everyone had arrived back to the dorms, but they didn’t appear again. Since then, Elliott had been eagerly awaiting any sign of them, desperate just to talk even if only for a few minutes. The man sighed, leaning forward and tucking the small paper into the corner of his mirror. A part of him wondered if the coordinates would be the first and last of his experiences with the hunter.  _ I hope not… I mean that can’t really be it, can it?  _ Elliott wracked his brain, trying to put the events together in a straight line; Bloodhound had shot him, he’d gotten a date out of it, they’d gone on the date, and won a game together the next day. Even if the date itself was disastrous, they did end things on a positive note.

Except Elliott didn’t want to ‘end things’.

Ever since their night together, the man found his thoughts constantly drifting back to the hunter. Whenever he cooked himself a meal he caught himself thinking about the spiced jerky he still had wrapped up and stuffed in a drawer. When he struggled to sleep at night he could only remember how easy it was to fall asleep with their warm body beside him. Even when he tried to push them to the back of his mind with a few drinks, staring at the bottom of an empty bottle only reminded him of the dark lenses of their goggles. Every action and every thought somehow always routed back to the quiet hunter. It was suffocating. After all, it wasn’t like he could call them up at any time, once the games were over they seemed to disappear into nothing. Elliott chewed his lip, feeling the anxiousness gnaw at his gut. Tomorrow would be his first chance in a week to see them, to speak with them. He didn’t even know what he wanted to say.

Asking for another date seemed like an obvious route, but it was easier said than done.  _ Where would I even take them? _ Every nice place he’d considered for a date didn’t line up with anything they’d be interested in. Especially if they still wanted to avoid the public.  _ Incognito _ wasn’t exactly Elliott’s forte. He loved big extravagant dates; Flowers, expensive meals, and grand displays of affection. In his mind that’s what Bloodhound deserved, but if they weren’t interested then Elliott was left to scramble for a better idea. He wasn’t as familiar with the scene around Talos, he didn’t know all the little hidden gems in the city and didn’t have a clue on a good place he and Bloodhound could go without prying eyes or peeping press.

Thankfully he didn’t have to brainstorm alone, if he was ever stumped on something he knew he had Ajay to lean on for better ideas. Elliott left his room and hurried back out to the common area, hoping to catch her before she left.

“Oh good! You didn’t leave yet,” he proclaimed when he found Ajay in the same place as earlier.

“Whatcha need, Ell?” she asked, sitting up and turning to face him

“I need help.”

“I could’a told ya that.”

“Shut up,” he huffed, “I need a good place to go for a date. Somewhere  _ low-key _ you know?”

“Don’t say it like that, you sound like a dad,” Ajay laughed, “Can’t say I know many places like that, but I’m sure Crypto does. Try askin’ him.”

“Crypto? Seriously? He’s your answer for everything.”

“He’s always got an answer,” she shrugged.

Elliott groaned, he hated that she was right, but she was  _ always _ right. “Is he in his room?”

“Where else would he be?”

“That kid needs to see the sun once in a while,” Elliott chided as he made his way back towards the hall.

“You try tellin’ him that, tell me how it goes.”

The man rolled his eyes but didn’t respond, just wanting to get his biweekly interaction with the hacker over with. The two were civil enough, they could make it to the end of a match without killing each other if they were on the same team, but outside of mandatory games they didn’t exactly seek each other out. Elliott could already feel himself beginning to tense up as he approached the man’s room. When he arrived he reached out and knocked gently on the door. No reply. He waited a few moments then knocked again a bit harder. The door swung open quickly and Crypto’s usual tired face appeared, already scowling.  _ He looks extra annoyed today. _

“What do you want?” the man grunted.

“Nice to see you too,” Elliott joked. The tease didn’t go over well and he had to act quick, shoving his foot in the door to keep from it slamming in his face. Crypto glared but before he could speak, the sound of laughter made itself present between them. Elliott raised an eyebrow, “You have company?”

“What’s it going to take to get you out of my doorway?” Crypto asked bluntly.

“Do you know any good places to eat?”

“You’re kidding me, right?” he asked.

“I’m being serious! Ajay said you’d know a good spot to go eat. Some place where people aren’t gonna recognize me or ask for an autograph.”

“Why would anyone do that?”

“Do you want me to leave you alone or not?”

Crypto grunted, glaring for a moment before the sound of laughter rang out again. The hacker took another glance between Elliott and his guests before grunting and giving him a nod. He kicked Elliot’s foot out of the way and slammed the door. Elliott heard the lock click before he could even react. He waited outside the door awkwardly, wondering if he should try knocking again before he heard the door unlock and Crypto’s face reappeared. “Here,” the hacker snapped, shoving a small, neon-colored post-it note at the other legend, “Now leave me alone.” Elliott barely managed to catch the paper before the door was slammed shut and locked again. He looked down at the paper, a small address scrawled on it in sloppy writing.  _ Well it’s something.  _ Elliott decided to quit while he was ahead, beggars couldn’t be choosers after all.

He made his way back to his room, heading over to his desk and tucking the note away into his mirror for safe-keeping.  _ Now all I have to do is get them to say yes a second time… No problem. Should be easy. _ Elliott tried not to think about how long it took for them to agree the first time. It didn’t help the only time he got to see them was on game days and if they weren’t matched up on a squad his opportunities to get a word in dwindled even further.  _ What are the chances we end up on the same team two weeks in a row? What if they don’t even show up tomorrow?  _ He took a deep breath, trying to settle his nerves and quell the rising anxiety in his gut.  _ It’s going to be fine! I’m going to talk to them. I’ll definitely talk to them... Hopefully.  _ Elliott took a moment to shake it off. Why was he so nervous? Sure he enjoyed spending time with them, but who wouldn’t? Bloodhound was  _ cool  _ after all. They were calm, collected, revered, and respected.  _ Anyone would want to be their friend.  _ Now that he had his ‘in’, he didn’t want to lose any momentum. 

It was decided; He was going to talk to Bloodhound the next day, no matter what. With the matter decided, he headed back out of his room and out towards the common area; All the stress had really made him work up an appetite. When he passed the lounge area, he was surprised to see Ajay still there, looking more irritated than before.

“He’s still not out?” Elliott teased.

“No, and I’m not waitin’ anymore,” she said, getting to her feet, “You want to go see a movie?”

The thought of hotdogs and popcorn floated into Elliott’s brain and his stomach grumbled in response. “Yeah I’m up for a movie,” he nodded, already pulling his keys from his pocket, “I’ll drive if you’re buying.”

“Deal.” Ajay grinned and joined him at his side. He tossed an arm over her shoulder as they walked out together. “So did you get your private place to eat?”

“I think so, I got an address at least.”

“I’m sure Kim wouldn’t steer you wrong.”

“Guess we’ll find out,” Elliott sighed, hoping the hacker wasn’t going to let him down.

✰ ☽ ☼ ☾ ✰


	2. Chapter 2

It was finally game day and Elliott was a ball of nerves. It’d been a long time since he’d had such a bad night's sleep, he had been agonizing all night over how he was going to approach Bloodhound. He didn’t understand what the big deal was, he’d asked them out before, he’d asked  _ everyone _ out before. In fact Bloodhound was one of the few people who’d given him a ‘yes’.  _ Is that why I’m getting nervous?  _ He couldn’t make sense of it, it was just dinner after all.

“Witt! Anybody home?” A voice cut into his train of thought and Elliott snapped his head over to see Anita waving her hands in his face. “Hey, Witt, what’s up with you?”

“What? What do you mean?”

“I was calling you for five minutes,” she complained, “Are you getting pregame jitters? This late into the season? That’s not like you.”

“It’s not  _ jitters _ ,” he huffed, waving her off, “I’m fine.”

“You’ve been zoning out all morning.”

“I’ve been thinking about how great I’m going to do today. Need I remind you who won last week's game?” Anita rolled her eyes.

“Then why have you been bouncing your leg for the past hour?”

Elliott shot his hand to leg to hold it still.  _ Okay. Caught me there. _ “I-I uh-”

“Just get it together in the ring, got it? Don’t need you back in the infirmary.”

“Got it,” he nodded, “Don’t worry I’ll be fine.” He hopped to his feet and scanned the dropship, eyes looking over every familiar face and still not finding the one he was looking for. “Hey, have you seen Bloodhound? I haven’t seen them since we boarded,” he asked her, eyes still searching the room.

“Dunno,” she shrugged, “Probably in their room. They always get here early. You know you could learn a thing or two from them--”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Elliott grumbled, shaking his head as he headed towards Bloodhound’s space, “Thanks for the help.” Usually he didn’t mind Anita’s playful jabs, but today he had too much on his mind to play along. The ship was going to be arriving at the arena any minute and he hadn’t gotten to talk with Bloodhound at all. He hadn’t even  _ seen _ them. If he hadn’t checked the sign-in roster he would’ve thought they were a no-show. He made his way to the back of the dropship where Bloodhound’s room was inconveniently placed. As he passed Caustic’s space Elliott tugged his scarf up over his nose, not wanting to inhale the strong chemical scent that always lingered around the scientist’s room. Even if Caustic insisted what he kept on the dropship was  _ “non-lethal”  _ the smell still burned at Elliott’s lungs and throat.  _ No wonder the old man coughs so much... _ He was at least thankful the old man was assigned a room somewhere far from him.

When he reached Bloodhound’s room he wasn’t surprised to find the door shut.  _ Probably trying to keep the stink out. _ Elliott took a deep breath before reaching out and knocking on the door. There wasn’t an immediate response, making the man chew his lip. He reached out and knocked again, harder this time.  _ I hope they’re not busy…  _ It wasn’t uncommon for people to have pre-game rituals, he just hoped he wasn’t interrupting anything important.  _ I mean if they’ve been in there for an hour I can come say hi… Right? _ His gut twisted again at the thought of annoying them right before a game. He considered backing down and waiting until later.  _ Maybe we’ll be on the same team, I can talk to them then…  _ Elliott wanted nothing more than to tuck his tail and run back to the common area. For a moment he considered it, it would have been so much easier and  _ way _ less risky to just wait until they showed themselves. He took a step back, ready to cave into his fear.  _ But what if I don’t get the chance… _ Despite being a seasoned legend, he knew that each game he went into there was a chance he wouldn’t make it back home. Sure, the chances were slim thanks to the games’ design, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t possible.  _ It’s now or never, I guess. _

“Bloodhound?” Elliott asked, stepping towards the door and knocking on it. There still wasn’t a response. He glanced at the number pad and noticed the door was unlocked. “H-Hey, Bloodhound. I really gotta talk to you.” Silence. “I… I’m coming in okay?” The man swallowed hard as he hit the ‘OPEN’ key and stepped into Bloodhound’s room, unsure on how they would respond to him just barging in. He tugged the scarf down, still gnawing on his lower lip, “Bloodhound I-” The man stopped mid sentence, realizing he was speaking to an empty room.

The legend looked around the room, completely baffled. He noticed their raven sitting quietly in it’s cage, watching him intently with it’s dark, beady eyes. Elliott swallowed hard and quickly rushed out of the room, trying not to feel embarrassed.  _ Okay well at least I know they’re around. _ After all there was no Artur without Bloodhound and vice versa. When he made it out of the hall he gave another scan around the room, still pulling up nothing. He was ready to start asking around until he spotted someone walking with a familiar swagger across the room.  _ It’s them! _ They were engrossed in a quiet conversation with Wraith, not looking in his direction. Elliott was ready to scramble for them but was interrupted by the lights going dim, a bright red light filling the room as the game announcer’s voice came blaring through the speakers.  _ “Approaching dropzone.” _ Elliott felt his heart sink.

A strong hand on his shoulder interrupted his impending pity party. Elliott turned to see Anita behind him, motioning up to the big screen. “Looks like we’re squadmates,” she said confidently, “Hope you got rid of the shakes.” The man felt his heart crumple for the second time upon seeing his team for the day; He was paired up with Anita and Wraith. Anita tugged him to the launch pads and he followed along, his shoulders sagging.  _ What am I going to do? _ Elliott couldn’t take his eyes off the hunter, watching anxiously as they loaded up across from him, he was hoping if he willed it hard enough they would turn around and see him.  _ C’mon, Hound… Just turn around… _ The launch pad was lowering and so were his chances of getting their attention. Anxiety ate at him, causing panic to build in his chest and climb up his throat.

“Bloodhound!” he shouted, unable to stop himself. Their head perked up and he felt his heart start pounding in his chest. They turned around and for what felt like an eternity the two locked eyes. Elliott felt his heart skip to stop right in its tracks. Seeing their familiar dark lenses looking back at him was the most relieving feeling. It felt like the first time anyone had looked at him all week. He couldn’t stop the large grin that broke across his face as he looked at them. Time felt like it had stopped, but the moment didn’t last forever and their eye contact was broken as the teams were lowered over the arena. Elliott didn’t want to turn away, hoping he could get one more glance at them before they jumped. He felt entranced, paying no mind as Anita spun him around, slapped his goggles on, and pulled him off the launch pad.

He was falling.

✰ ☽ ☼ ☾ ✰


	3. Chapter 3

Not once during the game could Mirage keep his head straight. Everything he did made his thoughts trail back to Bloodhound. He couldn’t stop himself if he wanted to, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to. Every so often he’d glance back to the sky, remembering the last place he’d seen them. They had jumped after he landed, he could point them out by the electric red trail that sparked out behind them as they flew.  _ A Predator. _ It was a prestigious title, one they had no problems protecting. Elliott noticed they had dropped into a hot zone with at least six others, always ready to take the lead in battle. He could only fantasize about what it would be like to charge into a fight with that much  _ certainty _ , it was a fire that Mirage envied.

Elliott trailed behind his squad, the girls scouting out ahead of him. When Bangalore signaled them to stop he was glad they got to take a break, hoping he could take a minute to try and sort his head out. They hadn’t ran into anyone yet despite dropping early and he could tell it was making all of them antsy; It was never good to have your first fight too late in the game. Anita and Wraith spoke quietly as he approached, glancing at him and back at each other. Bangalore shook her head before taking off in a jog. Mirage looked to Wraith, raising an eyebrow. “Are we taking off again?”

“She is,  _ we’re _ staying here,” Wraith said, crossing her arms. Elliott tensed.

“Why? I thought scouting ahead was your thing.”

“What’s wrong with you?” she asked, ignoring his question, “You haven’t said anything since we landed. Nothing. We passed three wingmans without you making a dumb joke about it.”

“I’m fine-”

“Elliott I’m serious, you haven’t been playing your best lately,” she said, her voice firm, “Anita told me you were acting weird on the dropship too. What’s going on?”

“Nothing! She’s just being dramatic,” he groaned, shaking his head, “I’m fine. I’m just tired, once we get into a fight I’ll be fine. Just gotta get the adrenaline going you know?”

“You’re lying,” Wraith snapped.

“I’m not!”

“You’ve already told me so you might as well tell me now and get it over with.” Elliott was stumbled for a moment, his brows knitting together before Wraith explained herself, “Voices.”

“Right, right…” he nodded in understanding. It was only a few months ago when Wraith had finally opened up to him about herself and the constant quiet voices in her head. He still didn’t understand all of it, seeing as  _ alternate universes _ was still a strange concept to him. What he did know was that lying to her was near impossible. “Well why don’t they just tell you what’s going on.”

“ _ Elliott _ .”

“Uhg,” he groaned, kicking at the dirt path, “I’m just distracted.”

“Well, stop.”

“Great idea, thanks for the pep talk,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“What’s distracting you?” Elliott kept his eyes on the ground, turning to admiring his new shoes instead of answering Wraith. She grumbled something under breath before speaking up again, “Is it Bloodhound?” The man’s head shot up and he caught the small smirk form on the woman’s mouth. “I caught you staring at us before we got squad assignments.”

Elliott felt his face burn in embarrassment knowing that he got caught staring. He didn’t know how to respond, deciding to quickly start walking towards a building to loot. “I need ammo,” he said as he hurried away. He heard Wraith’s light footsteps following behind him and he had to hold in a groan.

“Elliott come on, you know you can talk to me. I don’t need you dying on me out here.”

“Why is everyone so concerned lately?” he grumbled, “Did everyone forget I  _ won _ last week?”

“No one forgot,” Wraith sighed, “There’s no way you’d let us.” Mirage rolled his eyes and tried to shut the door behind him but she was already a step ahead of him, slipping inside with him before he got the chance. “I think  _ you _ forgot how sloppy you were playing. That was Ajay’s busiest game all season. You couldn’t stay on your feet for five minutes at a time.”

“You’re over exaggerating.”

“We don’t have a medic today, Elliott,” she continued, cutting in front of him and stopping him in his path, staring up at him with her pale, intense eyes, “You weren’t even in the games for two weeks before that because you took a hit to the head.”

“It was my  _ hand _ ,” he reminded her, waving it in front of her face, “You’re worried over nothing. I had one bad game, I won the next game, I don’t see the problem. Like I said, I’m just tired today.” The smaller woman narrowed her eyes and he sighed, stepping past her and heading up the stairs. “When we win today you owe me a drink, got it?”

“What do I get if you blow it?” she asked as she followed him up.

“I don’t know, what do you like? Worms?”

“You’re an idiot.”

“I’m not an idiot!” he pouted, stopping to face his friend only to watch her walk right past him.

“You should just talk to them,” she said casually as she walked out to the building’s balcony. “They’re not a scary person, you know.”

“I know,” the man sighed, tailing close behind, “ _ Believe me _ I’m trying. They’re not exactly the easiest person to get a hold of.”

“You’re right about that,” Wraith laughed, Elliott couldn’t help but smile at the sound, “Where are you taking them?”

“What?” The question had thrown him off.

“Right, you haven’t told me yet,” she muttered, “Sorry. You already spilled the beans.”

“Well if you already  _ know _ ,” he grumbled, crossing his arms. He couldn’t believe it, he’d sold himself out.  _ Future me couldn’t keep my mouth shut? Or alternate me I guess… Whatever.  _ The logistics might have still been lost on him, but he knew he couldn’t hide it anymore. “I don’t know where I’m taking them,” he admitted, “I mean I do, but I haven’t been there before. I got the address from Crypto, I’m hoping the kid doesn’t let me down.”

“You know you won’t be able to ask them anything if you spend the entire ride back in the infirmary,” she lectured.

“I  _ know _ ! Sheesh it’s not like I’m going to go bend over in front of the enemy, I know what I’m doing,” he said, getting irritated over his friend’s lack of faith in his abilities. Wraith didn’t respond, instead she turned her head, her focus shifting as if someone called her name. Elliott turned to see Anita jogging towards them. She hurled something towards him and Elliott had to think fast to catch it. It was a high level helmet. He looked back over to her confused, “Thanks?”

“You’re gonna need it,” she called up to him, “I spotted Bloodhound and their squad East of here. They were grabbing something from a care package, might’ve been a Kraber.” Elliot felt his heart skip knowing Bloodhound was still in the game. “You’re gonna want to watch your head, got it?”

“Yeah, got it!” he nodded, pulling on the helmet, “Let’s get going to ring.”

“Oh  _ now _ you want to get moving,” Anita laughed. Elliott ignored her and hurried for the stairs. Bloodhound was out there. While he didn’t know what he was going to do with that information, just knowing they were still in the game put a pep in his step.

✰ ☽ ☼ ☾ ✰


	4. Chapter 4

The three legends had begun moving much quicker and at first Elliott felt like he was finally able to keep up. Unfortunately it wasn’t long before his team’s focused silence turned into an open door for anxious thoughts to fill his mind.  _ What the hell am I going to do if we find them? _ He couldn’t exactly ask his team to hold fire so he could ask someone from an enemy team on a date. Hell, he wasn’t sure he could even get near them without them lodging a bullet between his ribs. He flexed his hand, still feeling a dull ache where Bloodhound had nailed him last time they faced off in the ring. The man began to absently gnaw on his lip. He didn’t know what he was doing, or what he was going to do. Sure, it might have been a bit dramatic to assume he would literally  _ die _ before getting to ask them on a date, but it wasn’t impossible for it to take  _ weeks _ before he got to talk to them again. Elliott didn’t think he could make it that long. The man had been deep in thought when he caught sight of something in the corner of his eye.

A small glimmer in the distance.

Mirage skittered to a stop, completely losing focus all at once.  _ Bloodhound! _ It was that familiar glint in the sun, so slight he’d almost missed it. He couldn’t stop the grin that broke across his face. The man glanced around, his team hadn’t noticed him falling behind quite yet and he debated letting them know Bloodhound was around. He looked back to where he spotted them, squinting at the mountain range.  _ I wonder if they see me. _ Tentatively, Elliot raised his hand up and gave a small wave their direction.

A thunderous sound cracked across the arena, the unmistakable sound of a charged sentinel filling the air. The bullet buzzed past Elliott’s face, coming so close he lept back in shock. It was a near miss and he was lucky he didn’t lose an eye. He was suddenly feeling incredibly grateful for the helmet Anita gave him. Elliott swallowed hard but kept his eyes trained on Bloodhound’s direction, raising both hands in the air to show them he had no intention of returning fire. He gave a small wave again, wanting to know they were still watching. Seconds after he waved another shot rang out and a bullet buried itself in the ground at his feet.  _ Yeah… They’re watching. _ Elliott tried to keep his legs from trembling, not wanting to think about how defenseless he currently was in front of the game’s best sniper. He moved in slow, cautious movements, pointing at himself, then to Bloodhound, and finally to a house roughly a hundred meters away from the both of them, if he was right about their location at least. “ _ Meet me. _ ” He mouthed slowly and wordlessly, he didn’t need his team overhearing him on the comms. 

There wasn’t another shot after that, and Elliott could only hope that was a good sign. He gave the direction his team went one more glance before sending a decoy down their way, turning off his comms, and headed out towards the house. It was out at the edge of the ring so hopefully the two of them wouldn’t be stumbled upon by any passing teams. That was if Bloodhound decided to meet him there at all.  _ They could think it’s a trap… Oh geeze what if it’s a trap for  _ me _?  _ Mirage didn’t want to think about walking into a house with a full team waiting for him on the other side.  _ No… No they wouldn’t do that.  _ Bloodhound didn’t need an entire squad to take Elliott down.

“Bloodhound?” Elliott called out, frowning at the quiver he caught in his voice. There was no response and upon further inspection, the house came up empty. He was a mix of disappointed and relieved. While he was glad he wasn’t dead, he had been hoping for them to beat him there and save him the anxiety of waiting.  _ No winning, I suppose. _ The man sighed and plopped himself down on the stairs, deciding to wait around to see if they would show up.  _ They waited for me… Least I could do. _

Thankfully it wasn’t long before he heard footsteps coming around the house. Elliott jumped up immediately, rushing down the stairs and turning the corner only to be greeted with the sight of Bloodhound drawing their peacekeeper, leveling the gun with his head. The sight alone almost made Elliott pass out, his hands shot up in the air instantly. “D-Don’t shoot! Please, I just want to talk,” he stammered as he stared down the barrel of their gun, he could hear the loud charge of the choke wind up and he swallowed, “Please.”

“This is an interesting time you’ve chosen to  _ talk _ , Mirage,” they answered steadily, not lowering their weapon.

“I tried looking for you on the dropship, but I couldn’t find you anywhere,” Elliott explained, “I’m sorry I know this isn’t normal but I didn’t know when I was going to see you again. I had to talk to you.”

Bloodhound was silent, seeming to mull his answer over before they finally lowered their gun, but not completely, choosing to keep it tighter to their hip, trained on Elliott’s abdomen. “What is it then? What is so important to make you behave so foolish in the ring?”

“Come to dinner with me,” Elliott blurted, “Let’s go on another date.”

“No.” They answered quickly, clutching their gun tighter. Elliott couldn’t believe it.  _ They didn’t even think it over! _

“What? C’mon, please?” he begged, pouting his lower lip.

“I went on your date already,” Bloodhound answered firmly, “Was that not enough?”

“No way!”

“What?” the hunter sounded startled and Elliott couldn’t help but laugh. He’d never heard surprise in their voice before. “What do you mean? We met as promised.”

“No,” Elliott waggled a finger, still keeping his hands in the air, “You promised  _ dinner _ . We didn’t eat anything, remember?”

“You ate.”

“ _ We _ didn’t. Typically both parties eat on dates.”

“I ate before you arrived.”

“They eat  _ together, _ Bloodhound,” he said, shaking his head, “Come on you’ve been on dates before!” The hunter didn’t respond and he raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been on dates before, right?” They raised their gun again and Mirage took a step back, ready to apologize.

“Tomorrow,” they said sharply.

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes. I will be busy after that,” they explained, “The same conditions as before... No fans, no-”

“No press, no autographs,” Elliott cut in excitedly, “Don’t worry, I remembered. I found us a place we can get a bite to eat where no one will bother us. Just you and me.”

“...Alright.” They nodded and lowered their weapon.

“Awesome! I’ll give you the address after the game.” Elliott felt like he was on cloud nine. If it wasn’t for the peacekeeper in their hands he might have risked reaching out for a handshake, even now he found himself considering it anyways.

“Mirage,” Bloodhound said quietly, adjusting themselves to stand straight, “I hope you know this does not change anything between us; In this ring we are still enemies.” They motioned towards where Mirage had come from, “I will let you return to your squad, but do not think I will stray my shot again if our paths cross.”

“O-Of course, buddy,” Elliott choked out, nodding nervously, “Wouldn’t dream of any special treatment.”

“Good, I am glad we are clear.” They gave him a small salute before they began to leave, calling over their shoulder as they went. “Keep  _ skarpur _ and may the Allfather bless your path.”

“Uh, you too,” Elliott said as he watched them go, unable to pull his eyes away from them.  _ ‘You too’? Come on Elliott you could do better than that.  _ Bloodhound was already too far to call out to before he could come up with anything better to say. The man groaned and rubbed his face.  _ It’s fine… It’s fine… We’ll get it next time. _ He decided to finally turn his comm’s back on and check in with his team. “Hey guys I’m coming ba--”

“Witt where the hell have you been?” Anita’s voice cut in immediately, “We’ve been trying to get a hold of you. Are your comm’s down?”

“Sorry, sorry,” he apologized, “I heard gunshots, I just wanted to check it out.”

“With your comm’s off? Come on, Witt. Use your brain.”

“We heard them too,” Wraith chimed, “Everything alright?”

“Yeah, it was nothing. Nothing close by at least, I’m headed your way now.”

“Step on it, ring’s closing,” Anita barked over the radio, “Wraith’s on her way with a portal to meet you.”

“ _ Thank you _ , Wraith,” he said sweetly, smiling when he heard her familiar chuckle through the comms.

“Don’t worry about it.”

✰ ☽ ☼ ☾ ✰


	5. Chapter 5

As invigorated as he had felt securing a second date with Bloodhound-- even if it was through loopholes-- it hadn’t done much to help the man focus. In fact, it might have made things worse. Elliott tried to write off and ignore the buzzing he felt after talking to them, chalking it up to adrenaline from almost being gunned down twice in five minutes, but in the end his excitement had taken control and he couldn’t stop thinking about his plans with them the next evening. His squad had made it pretty late into the game without their first fight, and as expected when they finally found it they weren’t prepared; Or at least, Elliott wasn’t.

They were caught by surprise leaving a loot vault, an enemy team waiting for them on the outside. Things had exploded in seconds, quite literally. Anita had popped her smoke to give them cover to run, but Elliott wasn’t ready to be blinded just yet, losing his direction and running directly into Wraith. The two collided to ground, the sound of frag grenades rolling at their feet sealed their fate. Mirage could only watch as Wraith tried to phase herself away from the impending explosion, but it was too late. The detonation tossed the legends against the wall like ragdolls, knocking them out cold. He woke up in the infirmary an hour later, his left arm aching and snug in a sling. Thankfully not broken, but definitely sore.

Anita was sat up, silently glaring from the bed across from him. She looked better off than he did, but still had her head wrapped from a minor head wound. Elliott was doing his best not to make eye contact with her; He wasn’t ready to be confronted about his performance, he knew he really fumbled the bag this time.  _ At least I’m alive. _ As bad as the loss was, for once Elliott wasn’t beating himself up about it. He had another date with Bloodhound after all, and now he knew he was going to live to show up to it, hopefully arriving on schedule this time.  _ Right, I still need to get them the address. _ The man looked around his bed, scrambling to get a pen and paper together. He scrunched up his face as he struggled to scribble out the location, wincing as he pushed through the pain.

“You’re an idiot,” Anitia called out from her bed.

“I’m not an idiot,” he answered, not looking up from the paper.

“You’re ambidextrous,” she replied flatly. Elliott stiffened,  _ Oh yeah… _ He didn’t say a word as he silently took the pen in his other hand and easily finished writing the rest of the note. Bangalore burst into laughter and Elliott felt his face get hot. “Bozo.”

“Don’t you have a head wound? Shouldn’t you be sleeping or something?” he asked as he scooted off of his bed, tearing the blue paper from the notepad and folding it up.

“That’s literally the opposite of what you’re supposed to do, Numbnuts.”

“Whatever,” he said, waving her off, “I’ve got something to do.” He paused at the exit of the infirmary, looking around and realizing he hadn’t spotted their third in the room with them. “Wraith’s fine, right?”

“Yeah, she’s alright. It takes a lot more than that to put her down,” Anita shook her head, “That girl is tiny but I swear she’s made of steel. Everything just bounces right off her.”

“No kidding. Glad to hear she’s alright.”

“No help to you.”

“Right, gotta go, glad you’re alive though,” Elliott said before quickly leaving the room. Maybe it wasn’t his best game, but he was glad they all got through mostly unscathed. If the worst of it was only their pride being worse for wear, he would take it.

Elliott turned his focus away from the loss and instead focused on power-walking as quickly as he could through the massive dropship, navigating down the long corridors back to the legend area. When he didn’t spot Bloodhound in the common area, he decided to head straight to their room; Hopefully they were expecting him this time. Their door was shut when he arrived and this time the keypad on their door was glowing red.  _ Locked. At least I know they’re here. _ He knocked on the door confidently, “Bloodhound, it’s Elliott.” A few moments passed before he knocked again. Still nothing but silence. The man felt his heart sink.  _ Well… So much for seeing them again. _ He thought about slipping the note under their door, but there wasn’t an opening for him to fit the paper.

Not wanting to risk leaving the paper on the ground and them missing it, or worse someone else finding it first, Elliott decided to think outside the box. He left Bloodhound’s door to give their neighbor a visit. When Elliott popped his head into the room, Caustic was hunched over a laptop, furiously typing away, only stopping to read something off of a notepad before returning to his screen.

“Heyy Caustic... Pal,” Elliott called out, not taking a step into the room, the old man didn’t look up but Elliott decided to continue anyways, “Um… Hey. Just wanted to ask if you had any tape I could borrow?” Caustic finally raised his head, his piercing green eyes burning Elliott’s, the younger man took a step back out of reflex. “Just a small piece! Y-You don’t even have to get up, just point it out and I can get it myself.” The scientist didn’t respond, only narrowing his eyes at the other legend. “Please?” Elliott watched Caustic’s green eyes pull away and look at something to his left, he followed his glance to see a tape dispenser sitting on the corner of his desk. “Thanks,” Elliott nodded as he used his good arm to hurry and rip himself off a small piece of tape.

“Your gratitude is acknowledged,” the old man grunted before turning back to his work. Elliott didn’t intend on sticking around, slipping out of the room once he’d gotten his tape. The smell of the lab was overwhelming now that he was so close to it and he could feel his throat burning more by the second.

Bloodhound’s door was still shut and locked when he returned, he considered knocking again but decided against it.  _ Don’t want to look desperate… _ Before he taped up his note, he decided to read it over one more time, wanting to make sure he’d gotten everything right. He wasn’t about to screw up two dates in a row. The address was correct and the time was reasonable, there was only one thing that he was hung up on.  _ Is XOXO too much? Is it too little? Isn’t four the standard? Maybe it’s two. Should I have signed it Elliott-- Or maybe I should have put Mirage? They know my name is Elliott, don’t they? _ The man mulled over the note for what felt like ages before he decided it would have to be fine as i; He wasn’t going to ask Caustic for a pen and he didn’t want to get caught in the middle of taping to their door. He opted for attaching it to the keypad, hoping they would spot it on their way out.  _ Guess we’ll find out tomorrow… _

_✰ ☽ ☼ ☾ ✰_

**Author's Note:**

> hellooo !! thank u fr reading<3  
> i wasnt planning on posting this quite yet since it's only about half of what i have written, but i figured itd be a lot easier for me (and everyone else) to put this out in small chunks instead of giant ones. hope u enjoy it still!!


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